City of Souls
by Pineapplesftw
Summary: Things seem hopeless for Jodie when she ends up homeless but things are stirring which are much more supernatural than even Aiden could have guessed, and when Jodie is pulled into a dark world, she and Aiden will need all their combined will and strength to escape and maybe even prevent a war. But with three sides in this fight, which is the right one?
1. Chapter 1: Unusual Encounter Pt 1

{I would like to preface this by saying that it is my first attempt at writing, so all feedback, good or bad, is greatly appreciated}

The 19 year-old felt a sudden tug towards the underpass, like someone was calling his name, but he hadn't heard a sound besides the distant noise of the late-evening traffic on the highway above. Even with the snow muffling all sound he could still hear the distant bark of a dog and the wail of an ambulance.

He took a few tentative steps in the darkness he had thought impenetrable to even the keenest of eyes. Had someone spotted him? Had his mission been discovered and was he now being hunted? He stood unmoving for a good five minutes before he deemed the surrounding area safe.

He stole over to the large columns holding up the highway, silently keeping to the shadows and snowless areas as much as possible. The only thing here that seemed of any interest was what seemed to be an area where a few of the cities' many undesirables or homeless had made a tiny living area. He walked without hesitation into the midst of the little camp as he knew that humans and even most weaker non-humans couldn't see him. The powerful Distort he was wearing had made sure of that.

He stood in the middle of the area looking around with a mixture of curiosity and pity. He had never really lived in abject poverty but had definitely lived in equally if not more run-down places. His kind rarely had much use for money.

His eyes slowly moved over everything, the little bonfires in their rusty barrels, the make-shift walls made out of anything flat that had come to hand, the mattresses and thin fraying blankets.

The inhabitants of the blankets, of which there were five, were all asleep as was to be expected at this time of the night. His eyes alighted on one of these inhabitants in particular. He couldn't discern much under all the layers of blankets and parkas and jackets but it seemed to be a girl of about his age.

"Though she most probably won't always look like that, unlike me," he thought with a pitying yet slightly wistful tone.

As he slowly approached the sleeping figure, he thought he felt the brush of something on his shoulder, and spun around. Nothing. A shiver ran down his spine even though he hadn't felt the cold in nigh on six months. He resumed his walk towards the girl. He stopped about a meter away and tried to see what had drawn him to her. As he was observing her she stirred as if she could feel his eyes on her. She rolled onto her back and blearily opened her eyes.

"What is it, Aiden? Why did you wake me up?" she hissed irritatedly.

He took two alarmed steps backwards looking around confusedly for the so-called Aiden. Then she suddenly jerked upright like she'd been shocked making him stumble even further back in confusion.

"Someone? Where?" She seemed to be talking to herself as they both looked around in confusion.

At least the Distort seemed to be working as her hazel-brown eyes pierced straight through him and moved on to inspect the rest of the camp. Now that she had crawled out from under the blankets he could see her more clearly.

She was wearing a filthy and unremarkable set of clothes, a red and blue Christmas-themed beanie over a grey peaked cap and multiple layers of thick, brown pullovers and jackets. Her jeans were baggy and torn at the knees, and not in any fashionable way either. He also noticed that her eyes had definite signs of a combination of sleep loss and crying around them. Her hair, or what he could see of it, was short and would have been a pleasant dark brown if it hadn't been in need of a wash.

"Jeez, Aiden there's nobody here. Is this just because I wouldn't let you steal money from the ATM, because that's just petty." the girl said, her eyes still roaming, unsure where to settle.

He had the sudden urge to remove the Distort and speak to her but stopped himself. No time for conversing with humans, not tonight. He had an extremely important errand to run and couldn't afford to anger his superiors by being late.

Before he could turn to leave however, he felt a strong shove from behind him and unsteadily whirled around to see...

Nothing.

No person or creature was in evidence behind him or in front of him or anywhere for that matter. It was just him and this seemingly normal, but obviously not, human girl. All the other vagrants were fast asleep in their makeshift beds and as he was glancing at them to make sure, he heard a gasp come from the girl behind him.


	2. Chapter 2: Unusual Encounter Pt 2

Now that Jodie could actually see him, the first thing she noticed about him were his eyes. They were a deep grey-blue with a golden ring around the pupil, like a stormy sea with the morning sun on the horizon. The rest of him was decidedly less breathtaking. A tall, slightly gangly young adult, as if he hadn't properly shed his geeky teenage skin yet, with dark brown hair that showed signs of an attempted style but seemed too unruly to be tamed in any way. Besides the eyes he had an average face that was all soft angles and a slightly small mouth.

She was way too tired to think of anything else, so all she thought was,"How could I not see him before, and who is he anyway?"

Aiden, who was connected to Jodie and therefore could hear her thoughts, immediately answered the first question.

_He is somehow camouflaged or something similar, that's why I can see him and you can't_

Jodie then noticed that, yes, she was looking at the guy through Aiden's eyes. She saw herself and winced inwardly as she noticed her rolled back eyes, which happened every time she directly connected with Aiden. The stranger was whirling around and looked about as freaked out as she felt, looking around with wide eyes, but she couldn't blame him, having a random homeless girl turn Exorcist on him was probably not something he dealt with every day.

_Yeah, but first of all, why is he hidden?, second, when he came in he headed to you like a beacon, why?, and third, he doesn't exhibit any vital signs whatsoever, and I don't think he is the soul of a dead person, so in conclusion,… I seriously don't trust him whatsoever. _

"Well I'm going to talk to him and see what he wants. Maybe he is just a dead soul that wants my help, maybe not, and if he isn't then I'll find out exactly what he is and why he came to me. All right?"

She willed herself back into her body and took a deep, gasping breath. She opened her eyes to the empty area in the middle of the camp where she had seen the stranger. There was nothing to be seen but she was sure he was still there.

"It's all right. I know you're there. You can reveal yourself. I most probably couldn't hurt you even if I wanted to." Jodie whispered into the camp.

_He's moved directly to your left._

She turned her head and inspected the area to her left but didn't know where to focus.

"Look, if you came for help, it might make it easier if I could see you," Jodie hissed, getting slightly irritated.

_He's on your-_

"And why do you think I would come to you for help, and what is it you think you would help me with?" said a voice, tinged with curiosity and amusement, to her immediate right.

Jodie hastily spun around to see the stranger with her own eyes for the first time. He was leaning against one of the makeshift walls with a look of open interest on his face, yet his eyes showed caution and maybe a little... impatience?

_He moves way too fast for my liking.  
_

Jodie ignored the remark and looked at the stranger more carefully. He was dressed for the completely wrong season, wearing a Grumpy Cat T-shirt and faded cargo pants. She guessed spirits were understandably immune to the cold.

_Yeah, we are._

"Well, if you were a restless soul, which I am seriously doubting (_Told you so._), maybe you thought I could help you, I don't know, move on or something." Jodie said in answer to his question.

"What like a ghost?" he asked with a disbelieving tone.

"Yeah."

"Pfft, yeah right, ghosts don't exist, and as for me being one? That's completely ridiculous! I mean, I'm as solid as this wood..." the stranger knocked on the wall he was leaning against,"... and the floor beneath my feet." he said, stamping his feet.

_I'll show him "don't exist"._

Jodie could sense Aiden moving towards the stranger, but before the "No Aiden!" even left her lips, he had given the stranger a hard shove.

"Ok, your ghost theory gains some credibility when I get pushed by an invisible hand twice in a five-minute period." the stranger said with an extremely wary look.

"You already pushed him before?! No wonder he looked extremely creeped out." Jodie thought at Aiden.

_He looked mighty suspicious and was walking straight towards you. Sorry for having your best interests at heart. And anyway, the first one was just a light nudge._

Jodie focused her attention back on the now slightly disheveled stranger with an apologetic look."Sorry, Aiden took offense to that and he hasn't really got a very gentle personality."

"So this Aiden is like..."

"One of those entities you don't believe in that's been connected to me since birth." Jodie interrupted.

"That's cool yet kinda creepy at the same time. No offense."

"Calm down Aiden." Jodie immediately thought when she felt Aiden becoming agitated again.

"Ok then, back to the subject at hand. If you didn't come here for help, which, chances are, I wouldn't have been able to give you anyways and if you aren't a dead soul,

a) Why did you head straight for me?, and

b) Why don't you have any vital signs?" Jodie asked, ticking off the two items on her list with her fingers.

_And why was he hidden?_

Jodie added, "Oh and Aiden wants to know,

c) Why were you camouflaged?" ticking a third finger off.

As the stranger glanced at his watch, his eyes widened and a look of intense alarm crept onto his face.

"Let me answer these quickly,

a) I don't know,

b) Long story, and I don't have the time, and

c) I can't tell you.

Now I need to leave because of some seriously serious business which I can't be late for."

And with that the stranger vanished into the thin air he seemed to have appeared from.

* * *

**Thanks for the support, it really means a lot to me, and, yes Indira, this is my first piece of writing that is longer than 500 words and not school related.**

**PS: I'll try to add chapters as regularly as possible but I can't promise anything, because I'm starting my matric year and things look like they're going to get hectic. **


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